quoi

[kwa]

/[kwa]/ pron

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

The verdict

“quoi” is uncommon German (outside the top frequency list), classed as a pronoun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency German
4
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - was

Key facts for quoi
PropertyValue
Headwordquoi
LanguageGerman
Part of speechPronoun
IPA[kwa]
Letters4
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “quoi” sits in German frequency

quoi falls outside the top-100,000 ranked German words, the long-tail zone of technical, archaic, or low-frequency vocabulary, exactly where readers second-guess spellings most.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

quoi is uncommon German outside the top frequency list, classed as apronoun, transcribed [kwa]. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "was".

We couldn't generate a plausible misspelling set for quoi, since its letter sequence doesn't invite the usual edit-distance slips. Our confusable-pair dataset has no match for it, since nothing in our dataset looks or sounds close enough to cause mix-ups.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct German form is quoi, spelled Q-U-O-I.

Definition

  1. 1
    was

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "quoi"?
"quoi" is spelled Q-U-O-I. The IPA pronunciation is [kwa].
What does "quoi" mean?
As a pronoun, "quoi" means: was
How do you pronounce "quoi"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "quoi" is [kwa]. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "quoi" come from?
"quoi" is a German word. PlainSpell's reference spans five languages -- English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German -- with definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for each.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “quoi”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct German spelling is Q-U-O-I - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as [kwa] (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Browse more German words and confusable pairs in the same reference. German words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list